Yuma Daily Sun, The (Newspaper) - June 17, 1977, Yuma, Arizona Security van body found floating in Lake Mead sheriff teffs tales of spy work LAS VEGAS body of a man found floating in Lake Mead on Thursday was positively identified this morning as being that of Russell Dempsey Dempsey 53 was one of two Phoenix security guards who vanished in a armored van robbery last month The other guard Cecil Newkirk 50 is still missing The two men disappeared May 24 when their armored van was stopped and hijacked about 50 miles SUN north of Phoenix Lt Beecher Avants head of the Homicide and Robbery Division of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said some boaters discovered Dempsey's badly bloated and decomposed body Avants said initial identification was made through jewelry and body markings and that an autopsy is slated later today to determine the cause of death Avants said it appeared that body had been in the water for a many many days An FBI agent from Phoenix with fingerprints of both men arrived here Thursday night So far as we know at this point we have the body of a John Doe only spokesman in Phoenix said and ARIZONA SENTINEL Telephone SUN Issue Year SENTINEL 81 st Issue Year Yuma Arizona Fri June 17 1977 Keeping tax rate down is object of county By CYNTHIA LANCASTER The Yuma Daily Sun No major capital improvements are planned for this year's county budget County Manager Gene Brazeel said this morning We're going to use the available money to maintain what we've already got in an effort to keep the tax rate as low as Brazeel said There have been no estimates yet on what the tax rate might be The current rate is per assessed valuation The county manager and members of the board of supervisors spent this week reviewing each county ment's requests Brazeel said decisions were made on cuts changes and readjustments The county's initial budget figures will be presented for public review at a hearing June 30 Preliminary approval of the budget can come at that time Once a budget receives preliminary approval it can be lowered but not raised For that reason Brazeel said the highest estimates are being used in calculating funding for programs whose cost is uncertain Medicaid the indigent health care program is one such area he said At this point the county does not The weather High yesterday 109 Low this morning 78 Temperature 11 today 98 High today near 107 Low tonight mid 70s High tomorrow Relative humidity 11 Average high this date 101 Average low this date 71 Forecast for Yuma and today this evening and tomorrow Continued very warm today through Saturday with mostly sunny days West to southwesterly winds today from 8 to 18 mph diminishing tonight Sunset Sunrise know which of several funding for- will be used to determine county costs There is also a possibility that a pending court eliminate the program entirely Brazeel said At present the county is estimating it will cost more than million next year for its health care program Brazeel said He said the cost could come down by Included in the health care program is in indigent medical bills to be carried over from this year's budget The county had asked to go before the state tax commission for mission to exceed this year's budget by that amount But Brazeel said today the county has been asked to carry the bills into the next budget instead The state request was made because of pressing time requirements Brazeel said The carryover will not affect next year's tax rate County revenue sharing funds of about will be channeled into the budget to help keep the tax rate down rather than being used to pay for new projects he said Federal public works of will be used to improve county bridges Brazeel said A 35 million grant for a new county jail is apparently dead although word has still not been received The county manager said he has been in contact with federal workers and U.S Sen Dennis He has been told it seems there simply isn't enough money available for a new jail I guess we were lucky to get the inoney we did for Brazeel said He added the only way to afford a major capital expenditure like that required for a new jail would be to have a bond issue The county has no plans to do that he 1 don't think the public would go for it good evening Yuma TWO SHARE law officer of the year honors from Yuma Chamber of Commerce Page 3 SISTERS TO REPRESENT Yuma at the national Future Homemakers of America convention in Seattle Page 7 nation RELIGION is no longer grounds for taking a day off Page 28 THE U.S HOUSE may have won only a temporary battle when it passed 17 water projects that Carter wanted to kill Carter may yet win the war Page 5 sports LOCAL WRESTLERS defeated an All-Star team from Nevada last night Page 15 ASU BEAT South Carolina to remain alive in the College World Series Page 15 Accent on Movies 12 Churches Parker 11 Crossword 13 Editorial QuePasa Sports Other sources in Phoenix indicated the body might be that of Dempsey Dempsey and Newkirk were en route to banks in Prescott Sedona and Flagstaff with in currency and in coins when they disappeared When investigators found the van the currency was gone but the sacks of coins remained along with a shotgun The FBI and Phoenix police have theorized with help from motorists who reported seeing a police car with flashing lights near the location of the van that the two were lured from their van by a mock police car executives insisted from the beginning that the two veteran employes who had spotless records were abducted or murdered Dempsey had been with 20 years and Newkirk 25 years Gulf exec helped draft letter asking uranium cartel WASHINGTON API A former Gulf Oil Corp executive acknowledged today that he helped draft a Canadian government request that Gulf in an international uranium cartel The testimony by Gregg to a House investigations subcommittee appeared to undermine Gulf's con- tention that it was compelled to join the cartel by Canadian officials At issue is a January 1974 letter by a top Canadian energy official to Ediger manager of Gulf's Canadian subsidiary claiming it is deemed to be in the public interest for Gregg to become an active member of the operations committee Gregg who was then manager for uranium sales for the subsidiary said the letter was actually drafted by Ediger and himself The letter was signed by MacNabb senior assistant Canadian deputy minister for energy nunes and resources Mr Ediger and I jointly drafted this letter or something very close to it and sent it to Gregg conceded under questioning Gulf officials testified before the panel on Thursday that the firm only joined the cartel because it was forced Pasa to by Canada The officials also denied that this involvement violated any U.S antitrust laws Gregg said that his superiors at Gulf were very sensitive about the antitrust issue and that I would not as a practice talk about club activities when I was in the United States Gregg said the cartel members often referred to the group as The Club He said that if asked activities of foreign uranium producers he would deny knowing anything about the arrangement Asked by subcommittee counsel John Atkison if that meant Gregg said That's a fairly good characterization Subcommittee Chairman John E said it is quite possible that the panel will vote to ask the Justice Department to investigate whether Gulf violated U.S antitrust laws In testimony Thursday two senior Gulf officials acknowledged that the activities did result in an in- crease in the world market price of uranium And one of them also con- ceded that as a result of the cartel some U.S utilities may have wound iip pay ing higher prices for uranium Five Arizonans finalists for seat on Appeals Court TUCSON Ariz API Five Arizona residents are the finalists for appointment to the 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals based in San cisco says an aide to Sen Dennis DeConcini The five are William Canby an Arizona State University law professor Stanley Feldman of Tucson former head of the State Bar Association Arizona Supreme Court Justice Frank Gordon of Kingman Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Mary Schroeder of Phoenix and Thomas Tang of Phoenix president of the State Bar Association The DeConcini aide said the five names have been submitted to President Carter His choice must be confirmed by the Senate bond is sef for doper TUCSON Ariz AP A bond has been set for a man described in a federal court document as a very significant narcotics trafficker in Arizona California Nevada and Mexico U.S Magistrate Richard C Gormley set the unusually high bond Thursday for Ignacio Gonzales Romero a Mexican national who federal officials said lives in the Los Angeles area The bond was requested by a federal prosecutor Prosecutor Stephen Dichter sub- mitted an affidavit with the bond request quoting U.S Drug En- forcement Administration agents as saying Romero is suspected of in- volvement in a large laboratory in the Los Angeles area He was arrested in Nogales Ariz Tuesday after undercover drug agents who said he offered to sell them 1.5 pounds of morphine base for to SAN AP ss built on Coney Island g were to have landed Korean invaders on Japanese shores Marlene Dietrich sang coded S songs for allied troops during j World War II When the Assn of Former Intelligence Officers meets the stories flow Lee Echols now 69 and retired ff in Chula Vista was part of an Office of Strategic Services spy S team Its mission was to in- S filtrate German nuclear research facilities at Peenemunde during g World War II S Eileen Scott of nearby Coronado was in her 20s when S she joined the OSS and delivered S coded sheet music to S singer Marlene Dietrich at a S recording studio in New York We would never know what vi the message she said S Thursday in an interview They never told us anything we g didn't need to know She confesses she has forgotten the name of the tune S that Dietrich was to have S crooned at allied bases overseas Give the girl a glass of S wine Dietrich said when I Mrs Scott recalled S She looked fabulous slim S and blonde and dressed in black Sj velvet pants and a white satin blouse even in this little studio Echols said he worked under I Army Col Carl F Eifler on the 8 Peenemunde project and also on Sj a proposal to land Korean in Japan The troops Were to have gone in aboard built at the S Wheeler Boat Works on Coney Island Echols said They were 8 all waiting to leave from San S- Francisco aboard larger ships when the war ended 8 After the war the OSS folded It was two years before its S successor the Central In- S Agency was formed 8 In while sheriff of Yuma County he joined the CIA and x went to the Dominican Republic He was there during the in- surrection of 1965 when S- President Lyndon Johnson sent in the Marines and the Army's Airborne Division Because Cubans had landed earlier and been captured the S- CIA knew trouble was coming 8 But it happened a month ji earlier than we he said The meet monthly in San Diego and renew old time acquaintances And they try to generate good publicity for espionage SPRY SPY Former Yuma County sheriff Lee Echols rode a horse in the i Rodeo Parade Feb 11 1961 In i the accompanying Associated i Press story Echols tells of i signing up with the CIA for spy work the following year We're nostalgia but said Donald Perry a San Diego member All members must have been associated with an American intelligence branch before retirement The positive public relations Si aren't always easy to produce said retired Army Col iS Martin another who served in Burma in 8 You're fighting for your life Si all the time It's dirty nasty p work S Spy movies present a rather ig glamorous image But you don't get home after days at in- work to a fresh bath S- beautiful girls and a Scotch 8 drink Echols said the CIA gets undeserved blame for 8 mental wrongdoing I feel the wrongdoings of the CIA were all done at the instance 8 of previous presidents or their he said There has never been a violation by the 8 CIA that they haven't corrected themselves Carter intends go-ahead on Korea withdrawal plan I What's your ft 6 question School ended two weeks ago and I'd like to know how I did When are the Kofa High report cards coming Student The Kofa registrar's office reports that the majority of the were mailed The office today sent out cards to students who did not provide envelopes for the mailing WASHINGTON API The White House reaffirmed today President Carter's determination to proceed with a phased of U.S ground combat troops from South Korea although the Senate is unwilling to endorse the plan Carter's deputy press Rex Granum told reporters the President intends to consult with Congress on the withdrawal and will submit annual reports on the program as requested by the Senate Thursday However Granum reported Carter intends to pull out the ground troops over a five-year period consistent with security interests of countries in that area The White House spokesman also said There are certain decisions on the deployment of military personnel that are the of the com- mander in chief and he intends out those responsibilities In response to questions Granum noted Carter never has announced a specific timetable for withdrawal nor figures on the number of men involved The spokesman declined to discuss plans for American nuclear weapons now in South Korea However after a newsman referred to combat troops equipped with nuclear rockets Granum said When they withdraw the troops they withdraw the facilities Newsman allowed to leave Russia MOSCOW AP Los Angeles Times correspondent Robert C Toth who was questioned for more than 12 hours by KGB secret police in the past week left the Soviet Union today with his family Shortly before his departure the U.S Embassy lodged the third formal American protest over his detention and interrogation Toth ending tour here flew to London and planned to go to Los Angeles on Sunday Crane School budget clipped By CONNIE Sun Education Writer The proposed 84.5 million Crane School Dist budget was cut by nearly last night and then approved by a vote of the board of trustees Board member Lenore Mayle voted against approval She said con- struction of the district offices should wait another year and that the district could instead lease offices for one year Supt Hank Suverkrup earlier said the tax rate because of the proposed budget might jump from to per assessed valuation Yesterday's trimming should keep the increase down SI to 84.63 The owner of a home paid about 8103.05 for Crane schools this year At a 84.63 rate the homeowner would pay about Cut from the budget Construction of the administration building and teachers lounges at Viejo saving Funds to build the same structure for Rancho were left intact Four concrete activity courts saving The original budget called for building eight for Board president Jon Jessen said the district could build one court at each school and then see how heavily used they are before adding a second Restroom renovations saving 8100.000 Jessen said the renovations were badly needed but could be put off one year Jessen explained that even if the money were available by the time the project was put to bid and begun it would be time for school to open anyway Board member Jess Baker said he at least wanted to see some minor repairs done this summer such as putting up doors and painting All board members Building a dishwashing room for the school saving Funds to purchase land for the proposed district offices Jessen said the district could trade some land it already has but is unsuitable for the offices Jessen said next year's budget will have to include purchasing a backup refrigeration unit for Pueblo con- struction of the dishwashing room a Viejo administration building adding a stage to the cafeteria at building a multipurpose building for and restroom renovations Yesterday's budget itemized for the first time 839.000 for shop equipment 821.000 for home economics equipment for two district vehicles and 825.000 for a district warehouse At a meeting last week Jessen and board member Karl Dennis had estimated they could cut up to from the budget Yesterday Jessen said new information changed their minds The board had planned to spend of insurance money on shower facilities for Jessen learned yesterday that such insurance money by state law be used to pay off bonds Also too late this year to use the insurance money for and the funds must be held over another year So yesterday the board inserted a more conservative figure of to build the showers Yesterday's discussion left as is the funds for purchasing books and playground equipment showers at Pueblo wiring and roof work at Viejo and irrigation work at the new school Jessen said he worked with Suverkrup yesterday afternoon to come up with the cuts All board members Mrs Mayle Jessen Dennis Elizabeth Keddie and were About 15 others attended Jessen opened the meeting by stating that the public hearing was Monday and that at last night's meeting only board members would speak
